A list of albums, old and new, that i have been spinning lately. This is allll over the board but it is all good stuff! Fans of dark and obscure music will all find something worth listening to here! rAs always, recs are encouraged.

Low-key and uncharacteristically interesting Indie release. Rain Phoenix has a very unique voice. Love the lo-fi feel of this one... but I am an established black metal fan after all... and everyone knows we like our music sounding like it was recorded inside a tin can.

Speaking of Black Metal... This is a recent EP from a relatively unknown US outfit. I grabbed this on a whim off of a blog out there on the interweb. Fucking excellent, right to the point black metal magick. The vocals are reminiscent of old-school Beherit and the riffs are memorable almost to a fault. I would make an effort to actually review this one but at three songs there isn't much point. Highly recommended!

Expect a review of this one coming soon! "Filosofem" era Burzum worship of the highest order! Trance inducing 20 minute tracks with an excellent use of keyboard (I know!) to aid the mood. If I am actually praising synth use then you know it has gotta be good.

Another great Swans recording. Worth the price of admission for the wonderfully titled "You Fucking People Make me Sick" featuring vocals by Devandra Banhart. I do not care for him usually but his presence here makes this track sublime.

Collected works from their 1991-2001 period. Not as noisy as their older releases (awwww) but still inherently cool! Plus it's the only thing I am going to find randomly turn up by Neubauten at one of my local used musick shops!

Another good used find! Throbbing Gristle rarely turns up when i'm out fishing so I jumped all over this one! And it is just that: A taste of TG. Hamburger Lady = certified classic... but you all knew that didn't you?

Intense Power Electronics from the US. I have a hard time taking anything that has such an unwavering Nazi agenda seriously but since this is only worth listening to for a truly hateful atmosphere it delivers in spades. Approach objectively if you aren't offended easily.

Everything, and I mean everything Raison D'Etre releases is great. Really digging this one lately. The sound starts to shift on this record from the "prettier" feel of albums like "In Silence, Sadness and Solitude" to the darker, scarier (and arguably more complete) sound of their magnum opus "Stains of the Embodied Sacrifice".

Just because I have to! Many, many people will disagree with me on this but I think this album stands out as one of the crown jewels of Raison's catalogue. It is much more unpleasant than most of the past releases but it is executed brilliantly! Seriously, this album needs much more love than it gets!

This is actually the "Emperor/Wrath of the Tyrant" split cd. For me these are the highlights of Emperor?s career. Technically, they remain a superior band of the genre and while they may have been one of my introductory BM bands I find that their sometimes overwrought faux-symphonics ruin it for me. The synths are a little more subtle on these releases keeping it much easier to listen to. Sorry guys, I will never bash Emperor's contributions to my favourite style of music but I have just plain grown out of duelling keyboards (Nokturnal Mortem; I'm looking at you!) in favour of the genre's raw roots!

This release has limited appeal. That is a generous description in retrospect. Really, this album is an absolute cacophony. Almost unlistenable, and widely hated. In the end however, it is a great fusion of Noise and Black Metal into a uniquely oppressive atmosphere. I recommend everyone listen to this so you can all tell me how much you hate it!

Very weird ambient release. 16 meditative tracks randomly featuring a brief and unusual percussion sample. The presence of said sample, mixed in at what initially appears to be arbitrary moments, which is always the exact same sample, used to really annoy me. It is now the element that draws me back to this release... something is going on behind the scenes of this album!

I totally agree. Certain times they are used in a perfect and subtle way so that they ADD to the atmosphere. But most of the time they detract in the worst kind of way. Too much can turn an otherwise great piece of aggressive music into a laughable "Dorks' Night at the Medieval Fest" throwaway.